I awoke to the smell of rubbing alcohol and everything else a hospital would smell like. The only problem, though, was that I wasn’t in a hospital. I left my eyes closed and focused on the noise around me.

“Are you sure she’s okay?” someone asked.

“Yes. She’ll be fine. She sustained both major and minor injuries, but other than that, she will be fine. Relax.”

What were they talking about? Or more importantly, who? Then it all came back to me. The arrow, the meadow, the change, the fight, Keegan. My heart raced as the events of the passed night unfolded once more in front of my eyes. I sat up so fast that it made my head spin. But, more that the dizziness, was the pain, and the brightness of the lights. I started to fall backwards but was caught by a pair of sturdy hands.

“Whoa, there,” said a voice. “Not so fast yet.”

I opened my eyes again and the focused on the person who was talking to me. It was Keegan. He was okay. And so was I, for the most part.

“Good. She’s awake. That will make things a little easier for me.”

I looked in the direction the voice had come from. It was Victoria. She had come after all.

“Will make what easier?” I asked, my voice sounding slurred even to my own ears.

“I need to run a blood test so me can analyze it and find out what caused that forced change,” she answered, brandishing a syringe.

I gulped. I’ve had extreme fear of needles since I was little.

“What? You’re not afraid of a little prick, are you?” she asked.

“No,” I lied.

“Sure,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

She walked over to me, put the needle into my arm, and drew the vile. I flinched when the needle had entered but relaxed after that.

When Victoria returned with the results of the test, she wore a worried expression with a hint of grimness.

“What?” Keegan and I asked in unison.

“Well, the good news is that the answer to the forced change is here,” she proclaimed with forced happiness.

“And the bad news?” I asked, worry seeping into my voice.

She waited, obviously debating how much to say and how to say it.

“Were you hit with anything other than that wolf last night?” she asked.
“Yes. An arrow. Why?”

“There was vampire venom found in the results of the tests. The tests also

re-”

“What?!” Keegan practically yelled.

“The tests also revealed that the forced change was due to the fact that there is werewolf blood mixed in with her human blood, thus proclaiming that she is a natural-born werewolf,” she finished, as though Keegan had never interrupted her.

“Vampire venom?” Keegan said, his tone quieter this time.

“Yes,” Victoria answered.

“Well, what does that mean, that she has the venom mixed in with the werewolf blood?” Keegan asked, panic seeping into his voice.

“I don’t know yet. There are no records of something like this happening before. She could become a crossbreed or she could die,” Victoria answered, shrugging it off as if my life was of no more importance to her that a speck of dust. This didn’t seem like the Victoria I knew.

Suddenly, a shiver ran through Keegan’s body and, with a small “pop!”, he exploded into a big ball of fur. He had just morphed into a wolf.

Wow, I thought.

“Keegan, stop!” she yelled. “Not in front of her. You know what Emily will say if anything happens to her. What happened last night is bad enough already and you’re already in enough trouble after that,” she finished.

Keegan took one look at me, whined, then looked back at Victoria. A small silence passed over the room. Victoria was the one to break it.

“I know, Keegan. I’m just really uptight right now. This whole thing with the venom has got me worried. It’s never been used as a means of attack weapon,” she answered to some unheard comment.

What did you say? I asked Keegan.

That I would never voluntarily hurt you, he answered.

Thanks, I answered.

He didn’t answer me, but instead jumped up to the foot of the bed and curled up by my feet. I took that for a “You’re welcome”.

Nothing else was said except for a “Go back to sleep, Aurora,” from Victoria, a “Thanks for all you’ve done for me,” to her, as well as Thanks for saving me, Keegan, and You’re welcome, Aurora between me and Keegan.

When I fell asleep this time, it was dreamless and peaceful.

When I finally woke up, I found myself on a fairly good-sized bed with a canopy around it, violet, of course, and purple blankets, and lavender pillows. The walls were, you guessed it, violet, as well as the curtains and the carpet.

I had the worst headache, but it didn’t stop me from waiting in bed a few minutes before sitting up. I went slowly this time so as not to bring up another dizzy spell, pulled back the covers, and got out of bed. I walked to the door, opened it, and walked into the hall. It was adorned with violets from one end to the other.

I walked down a flight of spiral stairs to the first floor of the building. These stairs apparently lead to the kitchen. There were stainless steel appliances, a new cell phone, and a home phone. Next to the phone there was a note. The note read:

Good morning, sleepyhead!

Hope you’re feeling better.

Food is in the fridge. If you

have any questions, call me.

852-555-8264

Love,

Keegan and Victoria

Awww! I thought. How sweet.

I set the note down and limped over to the fridge to check out the food supply. I pulled on the door and it opened soundlessly. Inside was enough food for a banquet. There was fruit, vegetables, dairy, and at least half of it was chocolate. I was in heaven with all that chocolate, but forced myself to shut the door. Of course, I had to grab a piece of the Swedish chocolate and a chocolate-covered molasses chip before that was possible.

Opening the freezer was even worse. There was the remains of the birthday cake from the party. There was a huge carton of Extreme Moosetracks ice cream, fudge, Popsicles, and a few frozen dinners. I dipped my finger in the icing on the cake, finding it still soft, and closed the door while sticking my finger in my mouth to lick off the frosting. Opening up the fridge again (torture!), I grabbed an apple and bit into it while closing the fridge and walking out of the room to explore the rest of the house.

Right outside the door to the kitchen was the dining room, which also lead to the small study and the living room. Off the living room was the small bathroom and the armory. It was amazing. Filled from wall to wall with ever weapon you could imagine. It had everything from swords and shields to spears, bows, and arrows.

I decided to go back into the living room and look at the pictures that lined the walls. Some were baby pictures, some were of adults, teens, animal, pretty much everything. There was a whole variety of them. I walked to one that seemed to by filled with photos. I took it off the wall and brought it to one of the tables, turned it over, and started to open some of the flaps that kept the pictures in place.